Content delivery network developments are taking place at a fast rate. As more and more people are gaining access to the internet, the demand for web acceleration technologies is increasing dramatically. As such, content delivery network providers are gaining new customers at an astonishing rate.

Whilst many companies with an online presence choose to accelerate their data with an experienced content delivery network provider, some larger companies choose to go it alone, developing their own in house content delivery network. It is this option that it appears Apple has chosen to take, with many reports over the past year pointing to evidence that Apple is close to competing their own CDN.

Content Delivery Network Benefits

Apple has been using the Akamai CDN for the past 15 years. Being the leading content delivery network provider, Akamai has provided Apple with high levels of performance and web acceleration for many of their services including the App Store. However, as Apple’s customer base has grown, they now require a more versatile service – something they believe can best be delivered with an in house CDN.

The latest clue that the Apple CDN is gathering pace came during Akamai’s recent earnings call. Akamai CEO Tom Leighton said during the call that “over the last two years, our two largest customers in particular, comprise about 13% of Akamai’s overall revenue. As we look ahead to 2016, we expect these two accounts to still be our largest media customers, and they will contribute about 6% of our overall revenue. This seven point change in contribution results from their increased do-it-yourself, or DIY efforts